Mass Effect 3 : Crush On A Quarian
by JustAnotherIndonesianWriter
Summary: Enter the life of Normandy-SR2's crew member, who also happens to be an N1 Operative. Join his fight against the Reapers as he also slowly started to develop feelings for a certain Quarian Girl. [Re-Telling of ME3, post Citadel's attack, with an OC as the Protagonist]


**-2186 CE-**

**-Citadel, Presidium Area-**

A Human Young Man is walking around at the Presidium streets, wearing a black N1 Jacket. His Blue colored eyes were half opened at that time. He's sleepy from working his arse off on the Embassy this past few weeks. His black colored hair was a bit messy, but he didn't care. He had recently taken the N7 Training Program a year back. But the training was postponed because of this damned Reaper attacks.

_Crap ... The Council is gonna kill me for showing up late._

He picked up his pace as he took off his earphones and switched the music off from his Omni-Tool.

The surroundings of the Area is still damaged from the Cerberus attacks a few weeks back. And what's shocking is ... Ambassador Udina, betraying the System Alliance by working with that dread group.

_Damned Cerberus..._

Nevertheless, it's still the old, beautiful Citadel.

* * *

**-A Few Minutes Later-**

**-Presidium Embassy-**

The young man jogged to the counter.

"Hey, Sarah!" He yelled.  
"Oh, Terra!" The counter greeted back with a cheery tone.  
"Sorry i'm late!" He managed to get to the girl behind the counter, sounded out off breath.  
"Some things never changed from you, huh?" She chuckled.  
"Right, right. So ... What's the story?" He asked.  
"They're already waiting for you at the Spectre Office." She replied.

_T-The Spectre Office?!_

The Young Man was taken back by the response.

"Terra ... Earth to Terra..." The girl waved her hands in front of his eyes.  
"Y-yeah! Wh-what's wrong?" He stuttered.  
"Better hurry now, wouldn't want the higher ups to be disappointed." She chuckled slightly.  
"O-oh yeah ... See ya later, Sarah." The young man jogged upstairs.

_Why inviting me to the inside of Spectre-Only Place?_

The young man arrived at the Door. He lets the door scans his biometrics for a few seconds until a beep sounded off.

"Spectre Sign not detected, Access denied."  
"Damn it, i knew this would happen!" He grunted.

He kicked the door once, and he realized how foolish he was since the door was made of pure steel. He lets a colorful waves of painful grunts and curses out of his mouth as the nearby Ambassadors and passerby are staring at him awkwardly.

_Goddammit! That hurts..._

A beep finally sounded off from the inside. The door slides open.

"Perfect timing. I've been waiting for you." A commanding voice called out.

The young man is still busy holding his left toe, but when he realized who's standing before him.

A Rather tan skinned man, standing straight. His blue eyes stared into his. His jacket shines with the N7 Logo planted on it. His hair and beard were shaved thin. He's certainly the fabled ...

"**COMMANDER JOHN SHEPARD?!**" The young man yelled at the top of his lungs.

The young man immediately stands attention. and gave a quick salute despite his left toe still in pain.

"At ease, Lieutenant. Now ..." Shepard Chuckled at the fragile young man. Then proceeds to heads inside.  
"U-uh ..." The young man just stood there in plain confusion.  
"Well ... Come in!" Shepard sighed.  
"Y-Yes sir!" He followed.

_ME?! Entering the Spectre Office?! I'm in heaven!_

The two stopped before a bank of consoles. The young man still feels a bit uneasy. Too much sensitive data is on board and he'd do well not to look at them.

Suddenly a QEC Channel opens up, which startles the N1 Operative.

"**WAH**!" He yelled.  
"Relax, Lieutenant. It's just the comms." Shepard sighed as he also slowly cracked a chuckle.

_Like really, Terra?! Yelling in shock, now out of all times?!_

"Shepard." The famous Admiral for the Human Alliance, **Hackett** is shown on a holographic line.  
"Admiral." The commander replied with a respectful tone.

The Young Man also stood in attention.

"At ease, you two. So ... I see you have brought the Last N1 Operative, correct?"  
"Yes, Admiral." Shepard replied.  
"So ... **Terra Lao**.**The last surviving N1 Operatives from the N-School academy A.K.A The Vila Militar. Born in 7th of July 2160 CE **... I've seen your reports, son. You've made good progress on the training at Rio de Janiro. But ... Sadly the compound was destroyed by the Reapers a few months back." Hackett remarked.  
"Yes sir." Terra started to hung his head down.  
"Sorry for your loss." Shepard patted his back, in which the N1 Operative smiled in response.

The Admiral Pouted for a while.

"Are you sure about this, Shepard? I can requisite this for you. But are you really sure you're picking him?" Hackett asked.  
"Yes sir. From the reports i saw, he handles Biotic and Tech powers like a charm." Shepard replied.  
"_Who is this 'he'?_" Terra muttered silently.  
"Then he's all yours. Just be sure to brief him with the Status at hand." Hackett nodded.  
"Thank you sir."

The QEC Line closed as Shepard turned his face towards the young man.

"Well, Terra ..." Shepard grinned.  
"Y-yes sir?"  
"**Welcome to the Normandy Crew**."

* * *

**Mass Effect 3 : Crush On A Quarian  
**

**Chapter One :**

**The N1 Operative**

* * *

Terra is stunned, frozen in his place. His feet were rooted into the floor, his Dark Blue eyes went huge after that statement. He let his jaw dropped as his heart skipped at least 10 beats.

_DID HE JUST SAID THAT?!_

"Lieutenant? Lieutenant Terra?" Shepard waved his hand in front of the N1 Operative's eyes.

He's not going to believe what Shepard just said for the next 30 Minutes.

"Don't worry ... You'll do great." Shepard puts a hand on his shoulder.  
" ... Bu ... But i ... I ... I'm just ..." Terra stuttered.

Shepard sighed at finally grabbed something from his jacket.

"LOOK OUT! GRENADE!" Shepard yelled as he throws the thing upwards.  
"Huh?!" Terra snapped back to reality.

He instinctively raised his left arm, which at the same time, a blue light surrounds the sphere, and then he raised his right hand, where a flame suddenly ignites the thing, vaporizing it before it could explode ... Or do other things.

"See? your Biotic and Tech powers are doing great." Shepard chuckled.  
"You did that on purpose?" Terra asked.  
"Of course!" Shepard lets out a slight laugh.

_What did i do to deserve this?_

"But sir..!" Terra disagreed.  
"No buts." Shepard replied.  
"Eh..?!"  
"See you at Platform E24 at 0012." Shepard chuckled and he walked away.

_What the ..._

There was a long silence at the vacant Spectre Office. Until a notification beep suddenly sounded off.

"Hmm?" Terra muttered as he touched the console.

The screen shows the Intel of the Quarian Fleet.

_WAIT ... WHAT?! I JUST OPENED THE TERMINAL WITHOUT PERMISSION!_

Terra panicked. After making sure no one is around, he finally breathed a sigh of relieve.

_What in the world did i just do?! I could get court martial'd for this!_

If anyone finds out about this, he can wave goodbye about the dream, serving on the SR-2.

"Wait ... This intel is ..." Terra's eyes went wide after seeing the complete details.

**The Quarians are going for war to retake their home system.**

"Crap! I should let Commander Shepard know about this!" He said to himself as he saved the file onto his Omni-Tool.

_To hell if i get court martial'd! I need to get this info straight to the Commander!_

Terra immediately ran from the Office.

* * *

**-A Few Minutes Later-**

**-Platform E24-**

She's sitting there. In all of her glory ... **Normandy SR-2**. The deadliest, fastest, and sexiest ship you could have. And waiting outside her by the platform, is none other than Commander John Shepard, the Humanity's Paragon.

Terra won't stop his fast steps until he saw Shepard on his eyes.

"C-Commander!" He yelled, tried to sound as ready as possible but instead sounded desperate, out of breath, panicked, and tired.

Shepard wore a confused look on his face as he stared to the N1 Operative.

"What is it, Lieutenant? And why didn't you bring your things? We're taking off in 0024." Shepard asked.  
"Well ... First of all, i'm sorry. But ..." Terra said as he opened his Omni-Tool.

He brought up the Intel he received from the Spectre office and explained everything to Shepard.

"Ah ..." Was Shepard's only reply.  
"I'm sorry, sir. I will now report myself in to the C-Sec for Restraining orders." Terra looked down sadly as he turned his body to leave Shepard.

_Wave goodbye to your Normandy, Terra Lao._

But, to his surprise, Shepard grabbed his left hand as if trying to stop him from leaving.

"Sir?" The N1 Operative asked.  
"Don't."  
"Huh?"  
"It took guts to actually bring me the Intel. We need that guts against the Reaper. Don't report yourself in. We're gonna need you."  
"B-But.."  
"Relax. We'll keep this as a secret." Shepard smiled.

_Wow ... I can't believe he actually said that._

"R-Really?! W-wow! Thank you so much, Commander!" Terra salutes the taller Commander.  
"As you were, Lieutenant. Don't forget. We're set to leave by 0024." Shepard grinned.  
"Yes sir!" Terra ran off to pick his things up in high spirits.  
"Young ones..." Shepard chuckled.

* * *

**-A Few Minutes Later-**

**-Normandy SR-2-**

Terra arrived at the Main deck of the Normandy, Shepard and the crew are waiting for him. Curious as well as Mischievous gazes are planted towards the new crew for the SR-2

"Everyone ... Meet Terra Lao. He'll be joining the crew as of today and also he'll be acting as a Tactical Forecaster for the team." Shepard introduced the N1 Operative.  
"A-a pleasure to work with you all." Terra nervously said.  
"So ... Loco, you brought in a kid that's actually made it to N1, huh?" A well built as well as bulky man commented.  
"This is **James Vega**." Shepard pointed at the well built man.  
"I'm surprised someone survived the incident! How fascinating!" A female officer remarked the N-School's destruction a few months back.  
"And this is **Samantha Traynor**."

Terra bowed down in respect, and gave a salute to them. The did the same in response.

"So ..." Shepard let him to the cockpit.

At the cockpit he finds a synthetic life form, inside an android's body, sitting on the Pilot's seat. Beside it ... No ... Her, is a capped pilot, at his laid back pace.

"**Joker**, **EDI**, meet Terra. Terra, meet Joker and EDI." Shepard quickly introduced him to the two.  
"The new kid!" The pilot turned his chair around with excitement and an amused look on his face.  
"He's not new, Jeff. From the data i saw, he has served the Alliance since he was 18." The Android Woman responded.  
"By i mean new kid, i mean He's new to the ship, EDI." Joker sighed.

_Okay ... This is awkward._

"Work now, talk later, we're leaving to the Far Rim." Shepard commanded.  
"Aye Aye, Commander." Joker turned his chair around lazily as the crew felt a small jolt. Indicating that the Normandy has taken off from the Citadel.

The two went down to **the Third Deck, the Crew's Deck**. They went into the 'fabled new Shadow Broker Lair'. Inside, they found an Asari, working on console, assisted with an AI.

"Hello, Shepard. What brings you here?" The Asari asked with a friendly tone.  
"Just wanted to introduce a new crew on board. This here's Terra Lao. And Terra, meet **Liara T'Soni**." Shepard remarked.  
"You must be the new fabled Shadow Broker i've heard of..." Terra said.  
"Don't be scared. I'm not like that old pet ..." She muttered.  
"Old pet?"  
"Okay now, Liara we don't need to get mad over the past now." Shepard exclaimed, calming her down.  
"You're right ... Thank you, Shepard." Liara smiled.

The two left for the Main Battery, and inside, A Turian is seen messing with the Thanix Cannon.

"Garrus. Still doing some calibrations?" Shepard asked, mockingly.  
"Yep... You know the old Vakarian ... Calibrating giant guns since Shanxi..." The Turian chuckled.  
"I want you to meet our new crew. This here's Terra, and Terra, this here's your hotshot bird, **Garrus Vakarian**." Shepard pointed towards the Turian.  
"Hotshot bird ... I like that nickname, cowboy." Garrus chuckled slightly.  
"Nice to meet you." Terra made an amused face, seeing how these two get along well.  
"Yep, nice to meet you too. Now ... If you'll excuse me ... This baby needs to be Calibrated." Garrus just faced towards the bank of consoles before him again.

Shepard chuckled at Garrus's response.

"Don't mind him." He looked at the confused N1 Operative.  
"A-Aye aye...?" Terra awkwardly replied.

The two then made their way to the med bay. Inside, a middle aged woman is sitting, while examining the condition of the Medigels on board.

"**Dr. Chakwas**, i want you to meet our newest crew member." Shepard pushed Terra slightly forward.  
"Ah... i've read your files, and i have to say, surviving the Destruction of Vila Militar was fascinating." She frowned.  
"Yeah ... But we lost a lot of good men and women down there." Terra looked down.  
"I'm ... Sorry for your lost, son." She continued.  
"Don't be ... It's my fault for not helping them in time." He clenched his fist in disappointment and anger.  
"Now, now, Terra. No one would have predicted the reapers to hit the Earth with such force. You did everything you can. And that's what matters." The commander sets in, patting the Uneasy N1 Operative's back.  
"Yes ... Thank you, commander." Terra replied.

Shepard guided him down to the **4th Deck, Engine Bay**, where they instantly met a Prothean.

"Commander." Was all the greeting.  
"**Javik**." Was all the reply.  
"Wait ... Are you...?" Terra asked.  
"Yes a Prothean." Javik trails off somewhere. Ignoring the curious gaze of the new crew.  
"You'll get used to him." Shepard chuckled.

The two trails into the Engine room. They found 3 more humans walking on the bank of consoles.

"**Adams, Ken, Gabby**, i want you to meet our new crew." Shepard patted Terra's back and waved his hand to get the Engineer's attention.  
"Ah! A new mate! We should celebrate with a game o' poker!" Ken replied happily with his thick Irish accent.  
"As if, Ken ... We're at war here." Gabby sighed.  
"These two ... Well anyway, i've heard everything from the Commander. Hope you enjoy your stay here." Adams greeted.  
"I'll be on my best behavior." Terra smiled.

And finally ... **Fifth deck, shuttle bay**. They find a young marine, opening a logistics terminal.

"Cortez!" Shepard called out.  
"Commander...? What brings you down here?" He asked with a curious look on his face.  
"I want you to meet this guy, Terra Lao. Terra, this is our Shuttle Pilot, **Steve Cortez**." Shepard remarked.  
"A Pleasure to work with you." The two exchanged a firm handshake.

Shepard finally stretched his body a bit.

"Okay, Terra, get your things set at the Crew's Quarter. We'll call you up once we reached the Far Rim." Shepard ordered.  
"Yes sir." Terra stood in attention.

The N1 Operative set his things up at Deck 3, managed to chat with the crew a bit, until he finally decided to lay down.

* * *

**-A Few Hours Later-**

**-Normandy SR-2, Exiting Far Rim's Mass Relay-**

A Beep sounded off from Terra's Omni-Tool.

"Terra, could you come up here for a sec? And tidy yourself up a bit, eh?" Shepard said at the end of the line.  
"Yes sir."

Curiously, the Tactical Forecaster went upstairs after washing his tired face.

_Wonder what could it be?_

* * *

**-Normandy SR-2, War Room-**

The N1 Operative finds Shepard, scanning at the War status and progress.

"Ah there you are."  
"What do you need, sir?"  
"We'll be having a meeting with the Quarian Envoy." Shepard said as he opened his Omni-Tool.  
"And ...?"  
"I want your input. Since you also got the Intel on the war. So you'll also be attending the meeting." Shepard remarked.  
"Y-yes sir."

_I'll be attending meeting with the Quarians?_

The crew is setting themselves for the Meeting.

* * *

**-A Few Hours Later-**

**-Normandy SR-2, Docking with Quarian Envoy Ship-**

Shepard and his newfound crew member is standing at the War Room. Shepard is always standing ready at the Center Console. While the N1 Operative is leaning against the wall, with his earphones at his ears, and the Omni-Tool playing his favorite music.

_When will they come into the War Roo-_

4 Tall Quarian figures enter the area. Startling the new Tactical Forecaster.

"**WAH**!" He yelled out loud in shock.

_I yelled in front of 4 Quarian Admirals ... GREAT! PERFECT!_

"Keelah!" The 4 Quarian Admirals yelled back in surprise.  
"O-oh! I'm sorry!" He stammered.

Shepard chuckled and sighed at his crew's sudden reaction.

The briefing went quite tense. 17 Days ago, the Quarian made precision strikes on 4 Geth systems in order to retake their Homeworld, Rannoch. But with this, they also managed to wage another war with that Synthetic life form. The race that almost wiped out the Quarian race, their own creators several hundred years ago.

_They're throwing themselves to the Geth, again?_

The Tactical Forecaster pouted in concern.

The briefing continued. And in order to advance down into their world, They have to destroy the Geth Dreadnought, currently defending the system, and also ravaging the Quarian Heavy Fleet. Every single Quarian fleet is sent to fight it. And even more painfully for him, Even the Civilian fleet managed to take some fire from the Geth Fleet.

_That's where our team comes in?_

His deep in thought session continues as he hasn't made a single comment or input yet to the matter.

" ... Our newest Admiral has also volunteered to offer technical expertise." Admiral Raan, one of the Quarian's Admiralty Board members lets another Quarian in.

The Quarian is wearing a different looking armor than the others. Her armor color is dominated in purple. and her black and gold finish on it is also seen on her steel patterns.

_She's so young!_

The N1 Operative is shocked to see her. He's taken back by her appearance and lets out a small gasp. His gaze never trail away from her as she fidgets and walks slowly towards the group.

"Shepard." She greeted.  
"Tali." Shepard greeted back.

Terra never let his gaze off the Quarian female.

"Admirals, i'll have a team to hit the Dreadnought." Sheppard stated.  
"Thank you, Commander." the Admirals turned to leave the war room.  
"Terra, can you discuss our plans with Tali and Forecast a tactical plan later?" Shepard asked.  
"Yes, sir."

* * *

**-A Few Minutes Later-**

**-Normandy SR-2, Observation Deck-**

Terra noticed Tali, the youngest Admiral is standing alone by the Window.

"Admiral." He said in respect.  
"Ah, you're the Tactical Forecaster, right? Lieutenant Lao, correct?" She asked.  
"Please ... Just call me Terra, Admiral."  
"Then in that case, i want you to call me Tali."

That managed to break the ice a bit.

"If you say so?" He shrugged.  
"Don't really mind it. 'Admiral' is mostly a formality ... I'm just an expert on the Geth." She replied.  
"Well ... I've read the reports and ... You guys could've told us sooner about this, you know, right? We could've help." He stated, concerns are filling his tone of speech.  
"Thanks ... But ... I knew you guys had problems of your own ... I'm sorry about Earth, by the way."  
"Yeah ..." Terra looked down.

The two stayed in silence for a while.

"We've got the largest fleet in the galaxy. If you guys help us, we'll hit the Reapers with everything we got ... Or what's left of this stupid war." Tali remarked.  
"I thought you would support the invasion." Terra leaned his back against the wall.  
"No ... After talking to a certain Geth, i thought that ... Maybe there's a chance for peace."  
"So ... Why help them?"  
"I'm an Admiral. People look to me for guidance. Public disagreement would divide the fleet." She said, sadly.

_Poor girl._

"Okay ... We'll do everything we can to support the ships currently taking fire." He said with determination on his tone.  
"Thanks ..."

Tali noticed his N1 Sign.

"So ... Shepard's got a rival now, eh?" She chuckled, pointing towards the N1 Sign.  
"Oh ... This? I'm still just an Operative for N1. Not officially inside the N7 Program yet. Besides ... It'll take years for me to reach the level of Commander Shepard."  
"Really? Trust me ... The 'Oh-so-great Commander Shepard' isn't as tough as you think." Tali chuckled a bit.  
"Is that so?"  
"Yeah ... Wow ... i've never thought i would actually talk casually like this anymore. Being in front of the other Admirals ... I just can't do it."  
"Well ... You've found the right human ... I've never really wanted to talk so officially in front of the Higher ups." He chuckled.  
"Then we're both alike." She smiled through her purple visor in response.

The two quickly dismissed the thought.

"Well ... We can actually talk about this later. Let's revise a plan." The N1 Operative said as he opened his Omni-Tool.  
"Y-yeah ... You're right." Tali nodded in response.

_She's pretty friendly..._

* * *

**Chapter One**

**End**

* * *

**Author's Notes**

So ... i've actually wanted to make a ME3 FanFic for a while now after finishing the trilogy several times. So i thought ... Why not? If you guys don't know, The N7 Program extends through 7 levels. 1 - 7, with 7 Being the highest. So the Main Character will have the lowest ranked N in this story. Well to get the idea, i also somehow developed a crush on the cute Quarian girl back when i was playing ME2. So i thought that ... Hey ... She would be a good choice for a Love Interest. And I WAS RIGHT! :3. So ... Basically this fic is just re-telling the events back from the Migrant Fleet's rescue, up until the end of the game. Some DLCs will be included in this story ... Planned DLCs are Leviathan and Citadel. so YES, There will be Spoilers. I hope you enjoyed the somewhat rushed First chapter, cheers. :3


End file.
